Howdy!

Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by Highline Rider, May 7, 2020.

  1. Its been a few years since I was on here and my old handle, password, and email address are lost to "wisenheimers disease"......... So - new screen name and so forth. My dad, Ralph Metzger was a 30 year Frisco employee from 1949 to 1980 and he was at various times a surveyor, trainmaster, roadmaster - and finally a stint as environmental engineer in Springfield.

    For a time he was dealing with the "Highline" into KC and we were constantly hearing dinner table tales. It was badly over-grown with greenery (1960's) and the operating equipment had literally carved a silhouette of a train through the trees! Anyway - the line was adjacent to the Swope Park Zoo. Some yahoo had sneaked into the plumbing for the moat around the monkey island and drained it enough so that the rascals were loose and roaming the surrounding area! The right of way trees were a perfect summer habitat for the critters and Dad's crews told him the "Green Tunnel" had now finally, officially become a real jungle....... So he took a ride in a locomotive and came home laughing - saying that the monkeys were looking right into the cab windows at them as they passed slowly through the stretch. It took a considerable length of time for the zookeepers to capture the critters but by fall they were finally gone.

    We ultimately lived in Springfield (3 times), St Louis, Memphis, Fort Scott, and Amory, Mississippi over the 30 years. My first ride in a (steam) locomotive was on the "Mississippian" out of Amory. Long ago and far away .....
     
  2. klrwhizkid

    klrwhizkid Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Steve, Welcome Aboard, again. (y)
    As an Assistant Administrator, I was able to identify your previous username: Highline Kid. I have merged your previous history into your new username, that way any posts you may have made previously will be attributed to your new username.
     
  3. rjthomas909

    rjthomas909 Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Welcome back!
     

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